Lake Menomin dredging

Lake Menomin Dredging

1938 and 2018

Here is an excellent picture of the city of Menomonie dredging operation.

Inside and outside of the barriers we see the green growth that this operation was falsely stated to prevent in the future.

Which city council member gets the improvement here?

On top of that, you can see the cyanobacteria or blue-green algae starting to bloom from favorable feeding fuel.   It's that simple.

There is a strong fuel source running right along that homeowners shoreline.  There is also a strong growth just outside the barrier.   Inside that barrier there should be no flow between this area and Butch's bay.


What did you get for your money?

How does this benefit the city of Menomonie?

This is what whey sucked up:

1938 and 2018

Bring back the beaches. And the drive-in. And....

Why does the issue of not bringing back the drive-in theater not seem to be as common as the issue of "restoring our beaches?"   For many years the Wakanda baseball fields were used but those fields have been added to, in addition a multi-million dollar waterpark was created.

But seemingly no vocal sentimentality on the absence of the drive-in theater.  

Are there other drive-in theaters that pulled people away from Menomonie?   Should the disappearance of the theater also be simply blamed on "the lake?"

Wouldn't the combination of wireless technology and sitting in a climate-controlled automobile (with high-budget sound system inside--we know these exist) be a better way to further isolate people into their own personalized movie experience, becoming something that is even better than having to make a short walk into a standard theater and sit in a room full of strangers?

The reality is that anyone with a net worth of a million dollars could easily re-create the drive-in theater experience and be very successful at it.   It likely wouldn't return a massive amount of money on the "investment."   Some of the kids (full adults, in actuality) in Menomonie that have inherited their net worth would never be willing to part with it.   (they might end up having kids that would have to work for a living.)   The drive-in of modern style would at best be created as someone's private playground surrounded by acres of private land if it was to ever happen at all.


Does that compare to "the lake?"


Maybe.

What experience do people expect?   

What kind of infrastructure is there to meet the expectations?  (In Menomonie, "lake" infrastructure is very outdated, worn, and really stuck in the mid-'60's with some mid-'80's spruce-ups.)

What is the most user-benefit infrastructure that would make "the lake" usable?  (hint:  it is not the green algae.)

If the people of higher net worth won't pay for the benefit of all of us, how much would the rest of us need to pool to make the same "lake for everyone" bill?

Maybe we will never find out?


Maybe the now over $1,000,000 dredging money dumped into the "lake," businesses and people in the city limits of Menomonie will question how they are being nickel and dime billed for it?

If anyone ever remembers it.  

Or notices no effect.

Or are willing to wait out the 20 year projects (17 left on northern Wolske Bay) life expectancy and then make a statement.

Or cares.



Maybe we should go back to the dream world of the post World War 2 years and return to a better living through chemicals on the lawns.

We wouldn't want weeds in our lake., would we?

Menomonie Jarrett Creek delta dredging area

Menomonie dredged the area in red, claiming that in it was "filling in." 

In fact, land pictured was literally flooded.   Today's commerical value marketers made the flooded land as "filling in" as sediment deposition occurred from poor erosion control and water mitigation in southeastern Menomonie.  Disguised as an algae remedy, it was purely lake front property improvement for a very few paid by most.

Where Wilson Meets Menomin

Menomonie

Right of ways on the rail came in after Knapp Stout were in operation.   Obviously, 1880-1890 didn't have much in the say of aerial viewing capability but detailed maps are the next best option for us now.

And obviously, we are no well-paid specialists here with several tens-of-thousands of dollars in equipment to get it much better, so it isn't going to be a perfect.   But this raises a lot for the "lost and gained" discussions and should provide for a good basic reference point.

The main channel of Wilson Creek is still quite deep on the east bank, sediment is more apparent on the west.  

When Knapp Stout built the Wilson Creek shingle mill where they did, they likely didn't choose the west bank for a reason.

The north ends of the Red Cedar River bridges/ North Broadway go right over the old barracks.   Of course, the south end of one bridge goes right over the Wisconsin Milling Company location.   (that was a landmark of Menomonie for about 100 years, btw).

The many structures on Meadow Hill have no trace, but Meadow Hill Road looks like just a centerline at that time.

Uncommon view

Up for auction now, for a limited time, the #1 in the series, view of the Bridge Over The Red Cedar River.   Postmarked 1951, the bridge put in 1942, the centennial banner (1946) on the Wisconsin Milling Company building the background, this is an uncommon view of Menomonie with a solid "when" this view existed.

Too bad the powers of Menomonie chose to have the "biggest lake" as they could get, had they gone with the same level (which was actually an option available) the old 1908 "engineering feat" steel bridge could have been a great location for modern 21st century Menomonites to fish from, to walk or bike across, or just sit and watch the sunrise.  Or the sunset, which would have been spectacular staring down the westward river horizon.

But....  BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER....  all eroding away at the post-lumber company city that existed without it for the 120 years since that concern packed it up.

Menomonie Fish and Game Association 1925

From August, 17, 1925.  The Menomonie Fish and Game Assn. builds a hatchery.  Notice, it isn't the "Dunn County" Fish and Game.

Also, of particular note, is the mention of the local Izaak Walton Club.

A 1920 Canoe Trip to Colfax.

56 Miles,  18 hours paddling, away for 45 hours.

Start to The Large Steel Bridge:   3:30-4:10

Cedar Falls Portage.

Canoe number 6.

Sandbars, Stumps, and Logs on the upper end of Lake Colfax.

Camp  Decomfort.

Pickle Egg Ridge on the Hay River.

Point Neptune.

Krogstad's Landing.

Cedar Falls Dam.

The Knapp, Stout, and Co. shingle mill at Cedar Falls was serviced by the Milwaukee short line that currently forms the outer portion of Wolske Bay.    The rail bed is well submerged from view since the spring waters rose in 1958.     Almost right on the bed have been placed some fish cribs over the years.


Cedar Falls is outside the city limits of Menomonie but has an older dam compared to the Menomonie dam.  While it has had some repair work in the last couple decades it is over 100 years old.  Unlike the Wissota dam that garnered much media attention for the age, the Cedar Falls dam seems to be just there.

Of course, the Tainter Lake area is outside the limits of the city of Menomonie and unlike Lake Menomin, doesn't fit into the commercialization imagery that downtown or Main Street, or UW Stout can use.  

Tainter Lake is the sandy, swampy, wetland, that was beaten into a farming land.    Then the farm was flooded with the creation of the Moore Farm Lake, Lake Colfax, Lake Menomonie, or Lake Tainter.    The new lake didn't seem as planned as Lake Menomin, under the direction of Senator Stout, which did have conservancy and "park" recreation use intended as part of design.    No, Tainter Lake didn't seem to have a consistent name for decades.


Let's take a look at the Cedar Falls dam, the creator of Tainter Lake:

View the dam today here

Signs of decay 2019

July 30, 2019.   This is surprising considering the longer spring and a decent amount of rainfall.   Still water, the old black pumps that are not even a full 10 years old are inoperable, the Medora Solarbee could be "on" but it definitely not changing anything.  

We did not expect to see any of the blue in any area yet this year, but it is here.  That blue is when it starts to decay and release odor.

So, what happened up stream.  And there are other locations on Lake Menomin in this same condition, too.  Simply because you can drive close to this spot, don't think it is the only one.   The entire south lake bank below downtown is not fairing much better today.

Lake Menomin

    

Mayor Randy Knaack

But today, where are the "solutions" that were going to produce results?

Wolske Bay

A swale.

Headlines are powerful hooks.  If the reader goes beyond the headline does it really matter?

How about context?   

This next part is particularly interesting.   One of the UW Stout scientists Arthur Kneeland was reportedly "studying" more recently the potential of a floating wild rice platform as a solution to the blue-green algae.    Of course, the subject of solutions and ideas coming from UW Stout is a topic consisting of decades of Menomonie news hype where there is almost never any benefit for Menomonie, so we will leave that subject for another time.

Did you catch that above?   "That bay down there where boats and pontoons are stored was nothing but a swale."     Green said it best.

So, we have elevations on survey maps from the 1900's, Green telling us the northern bay was a swale, and then flash forward to Mayor Randy Knaack and the people behind the dredging who say the "bay is filling in" and must be dredged.

It just boggles the mind that Knaack declares a one-man war on algae and wastes a quarter-million dollars on a stupid dredging project.   And then the mind is blown when the expert engineers totally did not measure the depth of the so-called "muck" and had to stop much shorter in depth because...., well because THAT spot was never that low to begin with.

Do you think Knaack did not include the height he grew since the early '80's and just didn't figure that into his scientific depth calculations?

Someday we might find how he measures "muck."   Meanwhile, no one will care about further wasteful spending from the downtown government leader.

What is a swale? 

Of course it isn't all bad, there is some great potential left.  But like most things in the history of Menomonie, people like us won't have enough money or resources to make a thing happen.   The people with the money will worm their way into the city echelons and spend the city money on destroying longer term Menomonie character.  Yes, character.     That old Lee Building downtown might have indeed outlived its usefulness, but it had character.    The replacement hotel building is about as cookie cutter as any freeway off-ramp hotel.

That's the crowd the downtown Menomonie government likely wants to attract, however.  The out-of-towners, leave your money and get back on the interstate.

It's too bad Menomonie is becoming less of a single family town and more of an investment rental market.

Nice days come before you know it....

Wasn't it not too many weeks ago we were getting hammered by a crazy amount of snow?   Weren't we living with solid days of rain putting us up, what, 6+ inches over in precipitation for the year?   Wasn't it just a couple weeks back where the Red Cedar Dam was letting water through at a fast rate with very noticeable raise in even the Red Cedar River below, while the larger rivers absorbed and backed up smaller streams?

This past week in Menomonie, WI, saw a lot more activity around the boat landings as the area started to swing into summer mode.   Several boats can be counted at a time nearly every day from one location, normally the more intense fishing fans disappear along the shoreline on the horizon or vanish upriver.

And up until just days ago the water clarity was absolutely great.

Really, once the ice broke up, Lake Menomin was really very nice.


Was this due to the extra water movement?   Was this due to colder temperatures?

Maybe since farmers weren't in the fields upstream due to wet conditions farm run-off didn't occur as heavily, or was moved fast enough with the extra water movement?


Things that people should take note of.  The seasons, that is.   Everything has an ebb and flow but if a person can't be in a position to witness it or doesn't pay attention to it it is all just lost in past days.


Maybe now that the general consensus is that it is nice outside, more people will be outside in Menomonie.  But every other bit of nature is going to be coming to life, too.   

The good green algae (not the bad stuff) is forming up now near the shoreline areas but the people who are coming outside are expecting a pristine white sand beach (that is heated and warm with clear water), even a little pollen floating on the surface has been observed to lead a person to react to the entire lake for even a little bit of real nature disrupting some sort of fake beach notion.


Perhaps that is why Lake Menomin can't get a better deal on this.  Menomonie pushes Wakanda park as the main event, and with the permanent advertising show on the baseball field fences, it has really become a big commercialized park.

What better feature than a big white sand beach on the lake?

Well, maybe if it has been built in a natural spot.  Somewhere where the river current was moving, or where natural deposition was occurring, building up a sandy beach.    Of course, where Wakanda beach is now, it just keeps on maintaining that 1950's beach.

Now that everything is coming to life this late spring and the summer season is almost on top of us, by the time anyone starts to really care about "the lake" the bacteria will be in bloom and THAT cycle will start again.

Lake Menomin

Lake Menomin on June 8, 2019.

Do you  think the Secchi disk has any real interfacing value as a user of Lake Menomin?

Restore the beaches?

300 people swimming near the old Menomonie Boathouse would have been an interesting sight!

I don't think Menomonie has seen 300 people in the Ninth St. and Crescent area at once too often.

Maybe there is more than just wonderful worldwide water facts that would have greater impact toward the better?

swimming beaches Menomonie

Marshall's drive-in Menomonie

Do natural attractions affect business locations?   Will businesses force natural attraction manipulation?

Algae. Nothing new or unique to Menomonie.

Strange.   Something happens, people don't like it, experts get some press, likely some funding and nearly 70 years later it is dam near the same shit, different day.

Is it lack of funding for research?   A too complex of an issue?  Inconsistent funding?   Lack of genuine interest?

Mayor Randy Knaack of Menomonie cleaned up Lake Menomin with two expensive dredging projects and he didn't even have to use his scum sucker 2000. 

So, how did Madison, WI not figure that out way back in 1949?   Well, you're right, they didn't have Menomonie's Mayor, but, time travel hasn't happened yet.  That we know of.

Let's take a look at this smelly lake bit-o-press from December 2, 1949:















Did you catch that little bit about few natural "enemies?"     
Just a few years ago a similar notion was introduced as part of a long term sustainable plan that was cheaper than the dredging projects.

But good old Randy Knaack got his dredging and the press of the day bolstered by commercial Menomonie interests didn't want extra government to pay and sustain a solution.
HOLY SHIT, MENOMONIE!

Stouts Camp Colony

Camp Colony Menomonie Stout

Leased on a well wooded tract of land just south of Menomonie's Fair Grounds at the eastern edge of the city.

This early recreational multi-campsite location within walking distance of Stout buildings was started in the spring of 1929.

Stoutonia 1930

Stoutonia March 13, 1931

Stoutonia March 13, 1931

Lake Colfax.

Tainter Lake

Okay, so it's not Lake Colfax.    But back in February of 1911, it apparently was Lake Colfax.  Or at least someone thought so.

Big enough to freeze over, Wisconsin's newest lake of the day and ready for commercialization.  

How has the old lake held up?

Are you happy with "Lake Colfax" not sticking?

The new bridge then in post card greetings

Available on ebay for a limited time, this great RPPC post card is up for auction.  The last really neat post card with the old Lake Menomin sold for an astounding $77.00!

.

Well today's post card is already reaching a fairly high price, considering this was likely sold by the box load through the old Lee Drug Store alone (Menomonie residents will remember the racks just inside the door that were there well through the 1990's and into the 2000's).   Of course this author thought these post cards were really cool then but with the deeper contextual Menomonie history knowledge (that this author has now) the pictures were still rather left self-interpretive.   Such as, "oh, this used to be a street here." vs.  "UW Stout has been constantly expanding and Bowman hall is the oldest building in 1897 and there used to be more Main Street buildings where that parking lot is south from Penco but they burned down along with the previous Stout manual training school building and then ....." 

You get the idea, there's a massive story behind it all with a lot of people spread through decades but we package things into the smallest most efficient package and the evolution of a "car-free" campus and the expansion of campus takes a long time to learn and communicate.   Who has that time to care about the city they live in these days?

Nowhere in the UW Stout history yarns is the mention of the pressure it has put on the city of Menomonie and the amount of traffic and parking lot spaces along with undesirable home owner occupied neighborhoods, but that's an "outside the bay" topic we'll cover in the future.  

But back to the post card.

What makes this RPPC really interesting is that the back description actually gives a huge clue as to what year this photo was taken.

"Lake Menomin as seen from Hwy. 12 on the south bank of lake. Girl's Stout dormitory and new bridge can be seen be seen across lake from this scenic paradise."

That handwritten note with "7-21-62" adds massive value to this post card.   People usually don't put foward dates on this type of thing, but stranger things....

Menomonie was notoriously known for crooked bridges and that 1942 bridge is a nice publicity feature.   Something we all really take for granted in the current day.   If it were possible to get a better view of the Parker Pen area behind the bridge, that would add more value to this picture.

Well, we know that the girls dormitory was Bertha Tainter Hall and that building was replaced by the Modern Jeter-Tainter-Callahan  in the mid-50's.   And of course this is still just "Stout State College" at this point in history.

The Jeter and Callahan "wings" were added in 1958 to the center Tainter Hall.  This is another clue as to an exact year this was taken.

This could also be a nice "look at our new brand new big lake" picture.   The water level relative to the bridge and the seemingly not there private boathouse near the old pump house could put this picture right into 1958 or 1959 with that very tidy looking rip-rap running along the shore.   Or even into 1961.

It doesn't appear that the old steel truss bridge is running under the new bridge, but it is such an obscured area off in the distance.

What's even more fun is that we could probably find someone that knew who these people were at the picnic table.

Of course it is a misleading photo to those of us today.  It would seem to suggest more space, peace quiet, nature, etc.   But those of use who live in Menomonie know it is a very traffic heavy road with vehicles routinely exceeding speed limits.  

This scene is very possible to recreate today, but not when UW Stout is in session or Monday through Friday for the most part.   The sit down passive park has become a drive-by location.   For the price, this author can't justify the higher bid value at present without a better shoreline background detail available.

A vision for Menomonie from 1927

 

"...to look after local conservation and to keep the lake shores and other beauty spots from being snapped up by real estate dealers and private persons who will rule out the public from their own lakes."  J.C. Wilcox, 1927